Air fryer zucchini fritters are a delicious combination of zucchini, cheese, eggs, and flour. This is a quick and easy recipe the whole family will enjoy. The air fryer makes these a crispy texture you will love!
These are a great side dish or appetizer, and the addition of zucchini makes them a light and refreshing choice. Try adding your favorite dipping sauce or topping them with fresh herbs for an extra burst of flavor.
We love a good side dish! Check out our other sides like our Roasted Sunchokes with thyme, Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes, Air Fryer Pizza Rolls, and Broccoli Salad. Other great sides include Turkish Shepherd salad, Air Fryer Asaparagus, and Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks.
For a great zucchini inspired main meal, try our zucchini pizza, and roasted zucchini. Or go for dessert with chocolate zucchini bread.
For more air fryer recipes and tips be sure to check out our How To Use an Air Fryer guide.
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Ingredients
This recipe uses simply inexpensive ingredients. Especially if you make them during zucchini season in the summer!
- Zucchini - Shred in with a cheese grater. Squeeze the shredded zucchini in a paper towel to get rid of the excess water.
- Cheddar Cheese - Shredded with a cheese grater
- Green Onion - Chopped in small pieces. We don't suggest using white onion, the texture is more noticeable.
- Egg - Egg is used to help hold the zucchini and cheese together without adding extra flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour- Use flour to help form the dough. Use a gluten-free all-purpose flour if needed.
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters
Follow these step-by-step process photos for the best results. You can refer to the pictures whenever needed!
1. Start by grating the zucchini with a cheese grater. Squeeze out the excess moisture.
Add the squeezed zucchini into a medium sized mixing bowl with the flour, grated cheddar cheese, chopped green onion, and salt.
2. Add the egg and mix together to make a sticky dough. I use clean hands to mix together in order to make sure it is evenly mixed.
3. With about ¼ cup zucchini dough, flatten into a palm sized pancake. About ½ inch thick. Be sure to press together with slight pressure to help the dough stay together.
4. In a preheated air fryer, place the zucchini pancakes at the bottom of the basket. Cook at 350 for 5 minutes. Flip over the patty and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until a nice golden brown color.
Hint: I'm in love with my Ninja Air Fryer. It is so versatile and I can cook large batches of food at a time!
Substitutions
- Parmesan Cheese - instead of using cheddar cheese substitute with grated parmesan cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese- looking for a cheese sensation, try substituting the cheddar cheese with mozzarella cheese.
- Vegan - the cheese can be replaced with a vegan cheese in order to comply with a vegan diet!
How To Serve
Zucchini Fritters make a great stand alone snack, or a perfect side with our Paula Deen Gumbo. Or try them with our delicious Tomato Basil Soup for an ultimate vegetable meal. We love making our Air Fryer Spatchcock Chicken with these fritters as a side. Our kids love eating them plain as an afternoon snack!
You can also serve as a perfect toddler food. It's made with great ingredients and a perfect for little hands. My toddlers ate them up!
Storing Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters
Store any leftover fritters in the fridge for 3-4 days. When reheating, to maintain a crispy texture, place the fritters in the air fryer for about 5 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave but the crispy texture will be lost.
Zucchini Fritters are easily frozen. You can freeze the formed fritter dough before cooking and thaw in the refrigerator and then cook according to recipe directions.
Or, you can freeze already cooked fritters and reheat them in the air fryer when ready to eat! These fritters reheat so well and make a perfect meal prep snack or add to any meal prep meal.
Top Tips
Don't forget to squeeze out the excess water from the zucchini. If you skip this step, your fritters will have too much moisture and will most likely not stay together. Draining out the excess water will help give you a golden brown and crispy zucchini fritter.
If using a paper towel, be sure to use a thicker quality paper towel to avoid it ripping while removing the moisture.
I leave the skin on the zucchini. It doesn't take away from the texture of the fritter.
Recipe
Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Zucchini about 1 medium zucchini
- ½ cup green onion chopped
- 1 egg
- ½ cup flour
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350.
- Grate zucchini with a cheese grater. Measure out one cup and squeeze in a cheese cloth or thick paper towel to eliminate excess water. The fritters will be soggy if you don't squeeze out some of the moisture. Use a cheese cloth, towel, or extra thick paper towel.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together grated zucchini, grated cheddar cheese, flour, salt, and chopped green onion.
- Once thoroughly mixed, add in one egg and mix until a zucchini dough is made. I often need to use my hands to make sure it's fully incorporated.
- With about ¼ cup zucchini dough, make a small patty the size of your palm. About ½ inch thick. Firmly press the dough together to make sure it makes a solid patty. See photos above for guidance.
- Place formed patties in the preheated air fryer. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Flip each patty over and cook for another 10 minutes or until the fritters are golden brown.
Notes
- Store any leftover fritters in the fridge for 3-4 days. When reheating, to maintain a crispy texture, place the fritters in the air fryer for about 5 minutes.
- You can also reheat in the microwave but the crispy texture will be lost.
- Zucchini fritters are easily frozen. You can freeze the formed fritter dough before cooking and thaw in the refrigerator and then cook according to recipe directions. Or, you can freeze already cooked fritters and reheat them in the air fryer when ready to eat!
- Don't forget to squeeze out the excess water from the zucchini. If you skip this step, your fritters will have too much moisture and will most likely not stay together.
- This makes a perfect toddler snack even for your picky eaters.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt.
- Add a dash a black pepper for a small kick or go all out with dash of cayenne pepper.
Nutrition
FAQ
Can you make zucchini fritters in the air fryer?
Absolutely! This recipe will give you step by step directions on just how to do so!
To avoid soggy fritters, make sure to squeeze as much moisture out of the zucchini as you can!
Yes! Before you cook them, or after! Look above for steps on how to reheat and cook frozen fritters.
Make sure the squeeze as much water out of your zucchini as you can. This will help the fritter stay together.
The easiest way to get moisture out of zucchini is by squeezing the grated/shredded zucchini in a cheese cloth or thick paper towel. Let the excess water drip into the sink or a spare bowl.
Kristen says
These turned out perfectly and my kids loved them! Thank you!
Brooklyn says
Easy to make! The kids love them!! So yummy!
Macey says
This is sooooo good I made it for my kids for an after school snack and they loved
Susan M. says
New to air frying so appreciated the extra details and tips in the instructions. Turned out great!
Audrie says
These were wonderful! Although I did add white pepper, crushed red pepper and garlic powder! I can’t wait to have the leftovers as a hash brown for breakfast!
Andrea says
We're so glad you liked it!
Keri Bevan says
These came out great. My kids ate them for lunch, and everyone was happy! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Zach says
So good! I paired it with a homemade tzatziki and it was *chef's kiss*.
Andrea says
What a fabulous fritter. I love that they are made in the air fryer and that I can switch up the cheese and spices based on my tastes.